Tandem in the Foreign Service

Drop Cap Recap: Valentine’s Day Edition

by stmemory on February 13, 2010

ever go on trips with anyone you do not love.-Ernest Hemingway

After four days off work, now we have a long weekend. I’m going to forget how to do my job if this keeps up. I took a cab home yesterday because the Metro was a complete mess and the bus hadn’t come for over 40 minutes. The cab driver reminded me how fortunate I am to be a salaried employee. People like him who work hourly or by cab ride really suffered during the last few days with the city being mostly shut down.

Our expected move to Nicaragua is still several months away. This week we filled out a pre-arrival questionnaire sent by the Embassy on our housing preferences in Managua. Housing assignments are made based on cost constraints, the rank of your position, family size, what houses are available when you arrive, and where possible, your personal preferences. It is obvious that our experience in Nicaragua will be very different than my time living there as an un-paid volunteer many years ago. Both of the neighborhoods where they house embassy staff are very nice. So nice, I don’t think I ever made it to that part of town more than once or twice when I lived there on my college intern budget.

And finally, a little Valentine’s Day fun by Shaun Sundholm, available at 20 x 200.

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Noting the difference between salaried and non-salaried workers, and seeing the difference in housing that position brings – each reflects an underlying heart of gratitude – which some have called the ‘parent’ attitude that prompts compassion. Keep that tender heart.